The Climate Change Performance Index 2021 (CCPI) is a comparative analysis of climate protection in 57 countries (plus the EU), which represent 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is the responsibility of two international organisations; Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute.
The list released doesn’t yet reflect the year of 2020 and the consequences of the pandemic however the two organisations said that no country on the list is on a path compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, signed by almost every country in the World in December 2015.
However, they point out that greenhouse gas emissions are decreasing in more than half of the countries analysed. The EU receives a high rating of climate protection and within this there are seven countries that also stand out positively, one of them is Portugal.
In the analysis of the Portuguese classification, the environmental association Zero, which is part of the International Climate Action Network (which cooperates in the publication of the Index), highlights the important rise of Portugal, but warns that the emission of greenhouse gases per capita are still increasing, without a large increase in the use of renewable energy.
The Index, published annually since 2005, measures greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy, and intends to create political and social pressure on countries that don’t reach the objectives.